Press Room

President Obama’s “”Better Buildings Initiative”” The President’s Budget will propose to make American businesses more energy efficient through a series of new initiatives: New tax incentives for building efficiency: The President is calling on Congress to redesign the current tax deduction for commercial building upgrades, transforming the current deduction to a credit that is more generous and that will encourage building owners and real estate investment trusts (REITs) to retrofit their properties. These changes could result in a ten-fold increase in commercial retrofit take up, leveraging job- creating investments. More financing opportunities for commercial retrofits: The Small Business Administration is...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 2012 LEED Rating System Development The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has released their initial draft version of the LEED 2012 Rating System. There have been two comment periods released for the public to offer their input towards the LEED 2012 draft version and for future LEED rating systems. The two comment periods are from November 8, 2011 to January 14, 2011 and from July 1, 2011 to August 15, 2011. Due to the open comment periods, the current draft version will be subject to modifications and is a work in progress. According to the USGBC, “future LEED updates will focus...

Mark Beattie, a Principal at Hickey & Associates, LLC, will be testifying before the Minnesota Senate Tax Committee on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 as part of a three day series of hearings. The Chair of the Committee, Julianne Ortman, invited Hickey & Associates, LLC to provide testimony using the expertise they have gained through years of experience in corporate real estate, corporate job growth and retention, and economic development. The focus of the hearing on January 26 will be on global competitiveness. The hearings consist of a three part series from January 25-27, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m....

The pages which can be accessed through the link below highlight recent corporate facility projects, new laws and incentives policies, wages, employment, demographics and infrastructure facts in one easy-to-digest compendium. http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2011/jan/cover/ The status of the U.S. as a nation owes much if not most of its character to the livelihoods of its individual members. And things can change fast: Witness how quickly high-speed rail plans were either derailed or boosted in a total of 14 states following the December decisions by new governors in Ohio and Wisconsin to rebuff federal funds. That same week, Ohio and Wisconsin were named along with leader Illinois, North Carolina...

The Pittsburgh Regional Alliance recently hosted a group of leading site locations consultants to learn how national trends, opportunities and challenges could benefit or impact the Pittsburgh region. Meanwhile, the PRA showcased the region’s latest assets – including the fact that our diverse economy continues to outperform our 14 benchmark cities across the U.S. The site selectors emphasized the region’s strategic location to be another standout asset. While on the ground in Pittsburgh, six of these experts shared their perspectives at the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Developers’ Showcase. The Developers’ Showcase was held at the East...